breathing devices

for T.C.

 

 

somebody said a man becomes child

& leans like the tower & crumbles        or falls

because                  the bathroom    is another country

because                  you find it         easier to crawl

because                  your answers are filtered

through the thick ears of children

and your retinue that of a king

 

somebody said you were forgetting the common tongue

current advice

is to scream in the ear with the wires

scream slow             lean low  make it

simple enough pierce your

weak drum with dull cries

 

but you remember all language

you know what goes on

the tongues like kites twist

and dip and fork about you

& you wait for them to land

and be legible

 

somebody is maybe right     the words

are stuck under your liver     your teeth     

have long since retired                  you have

tubes screwed in       every available option

for breathing and feeding and telling

the time

 

you are a presence of blankets

you are a to-be-washed pan

you are a glitter of pipes and a

wringing of hands

 

the breathing devices take place

on your body           the battery power

is running out fast     the limits of speech

are mostly internal     your words are

too brittle for air

 

somebody says i don’t think

he can hear us

somebody says i’ll have more

than your share

somebody whispers   his will

is his own                &somebody sees you

are no longer there

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

copyright 1999, g.chao.  all rights reserved.